Chapter 122: Chapter 100

Julia

 

In the end, they had to spend the night in the cave. It rained and stormed until the early hours of the morning.

Word had spread among the newcomers that two dragons were accompanying them. They looked at the two cats suspiciously. Overall, the mood was tense. The adult elves kept the children from petting the 'disguised' dragons. Especially the youngest did not understand that the cats were not cats.

Julia hoped that the elves' behavior would not increase in mistrust. The elves who had been hostile to her were not part of her group.  Maybe they were all dead. Julia knew that they, too, had acted mainly out of fear. Fear was not a friendly companion. As for the eldest's two nephews, Julia was not sure. Leo had told her that they were involved in the elder's plan. Julia had seen them briefly in the market square. There they had not been among those who spoke out against fleeing. They had been a bit off the beaten track, that’s why she had noticed them. But since the fire, the two had not spoken a word and glanced at Julia only fleeting, and pleading. Do they regret what they did?  The other elves were open-minded and friendly toward her. They thanked her, valued her opinion when she expressed it out loud from time to time (which was rare), and smiled kindly at her. Yes. Julia's opinion seemed important to the elves. When Hanno and Flora decided something, many first looked at Julia and waited to see if she agreed or not.

But the other elves... Those who wanted to imprison them... Had they acted out of sheer fear? Or had they simply been bad? Evil? Maybe the elder and Inga were bad people. Although the eldest may have just lost his mind. She might never find out. Nevertheless. She was relieved not to see any of those who had been cruel to her. Except for the two humans. But she could not remember her abduction and the two brothers kept a polite distance from her.

I’m sorry. But I can not and will not forgive all of you, even if you may no longer be alive. I tried to save you. Every single one of you. I'm sorry.

Her thoughts circled endlessly around all the things that had happened and the fire. Sometimes she felt she could still see the flames. Hear the screams...

The two cats were still snuggling up to Julia. Joseph purred softly. Comforting. Finn leaned against Marko, who had wrapped himself protectively around him.

Leopold had put his arm around Julia and was talking to Pepe, who was telling him about his home. Liam listened wistfully to his son.

Ilsa approached Julia. Her daughter was sitting with two other children. Their laughter filled the cave.

"Hello. Can I sit with you?", the elf asked, looking at the two cats skeptically.

"Of course. Sit down, please", Julia replied. While Ilse sat down next to her, Josef tried to crawl under Julia's scarf. His uncle held the small, hissing cat by the tail and pulled annoyed. Julia laughed.

"I was wondering..." Ilse thought about it for a moment. "Leopold is bound to you. Couldn't you have ordered him to help you? To help yourself and others to be free? You could have done that, right?"

Meanwhile, Joseph made it under her scarf and purred contentedly. Fiete meowed angrily. He reminded Julia of her father when he tried to stop her from climbing onto the roof.

"I could have done that, but... To be honest." Julia ruffled Josef behind the ears after his uncle pulled him away by the neck under Julia's scarf. "I didn't even come up with the idea. And... It would have been cruel."

"You didn't come up with the idea?" Ilse blinked. "You could all have escaped. You could’ve abandoned ourselves to our fate!"

"I don't want to force Leo or Finn and Marko to do anything. If they resisted an order, the consequences would be terrible. And like I said, I didn't even think about it. They are not my servants... Slaves. No. They are my family. And the fact that they are tied to me means that I have to make sure that they ... are happy. If I could, I would free them. I would break the spell. But I can't. Isn't that cruel? I can impose my will on them, but I cannot free them."

"That speaks for you, Juli", murmured Finn, ruffling Marko behind his ears. "That you don't even think about giving us an order. I feel free. Even if I'm not."

Leopold nodded in agreement. "I didn't think for a second that you would do that... I avoided you... Because I was ashamed. I felt guilty. I just didn't want to admit it. And I didn't want to see what I had done... I ran away. That was stupid."

"What could she have done?", asked Pepe curiously. "To im... What's that?"

Leopold ruffled his hair laughing. "She could have been mean, but she's not."

"I don't like mean people!", announced Pepe. "Whoever is mean will be bitten by me!"

"Pepe! What did I tell you about biting?" his father asked reproachfully.

"That I am always allowed to do that! Whenever I want!"

"No. I didn't say that. You can't bite anyone just because they're mean."

"But Daddy!", the boy protested. "I’m a wolf! Wolves bite! What else do I have my teeth for?"

Peter grinned and looked at the two cats. "Do you bite mean people too?" Fiete just rolled onto his back and presented his soft belly. Peter pouted softly, but he did not comply with the request to pet Fiete. "That's certainly a trap!", he said teasingly instead.

Julia took the chance and petted Fiete's belly until Josef meowed in jealously.

"The rain has subsided!", announced Hanno from the entrance of the cave. "We can go."

 

 

Cleo

 

They arrived in the capital to accommodate the children. The journey had taken longer than Cleo would have liked. She felt bad. Not because she felt sorry for the elves. No. Or did she? Did she feel sorry for the elves? Why? Why now? No. It couldn't be.

Cleo had never failed so terribly.

How would the Queen react?

Charlotte was afraid that Cleo might get hurt. But why should this happen? The queen was her mother. Cleo was just as much her child as Julia. And what should she have done about a dragon? And a black one at that? The whites were dangerous enough, but the blacks? They were monsters. Was her sister still alive? Was Peter still alive? Were they safe? Were they hiding in the forest?

Or in the steppe?

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The steppe was only a few days away from the village. If you walked... It wasn't very far. Did they want to flee to the steppe? Together with elves? Would they make it? What if two dragons were also in the woods?

No. They couldn’t survive that.

Presumably, they have long been... dead.

Or not?

And in the steppe lived centaurs and they were often not friendly toward people. Fleeing to the steppe would be madness.

She felt helpless. Helpless as a child. What was she supposed to do if she found Julia and Peter, but neither wanted to go home? What should she tell her mother? What could she say to her mother?

How much was the queen allowed to know?

And was Cleo a traitor because she thought so? What had changed?

 

 

Torsten

 

His father had left. Just like Annemarie and himself. A few carefree days awaited him before he and Annemarie would return to the castle.

Annemarie's estate was small. A pretty villa, with high windows and a small garden next to which a river made its way through the countryside. Annemarie had warned him not to go too close to the water. Kelpies lived in and around the river and sometimes one came as far as their property.

Now, so early in the morning, the vampire was asleep. Torsten lay next to her and played with one of her bright strands of hair. He wasn't tired yet. No. He was anything but tired. It was all so exciting. Would he be king one day?

Queen Annemarie and King Torsten von Bluthof.

He liked that.

He had taken her name because he now belonged to the court of the vampires. Torsten von Bluthof sounded royal. There was nothing royal about his old surname 'Grün'.

So much awaited him.

His father-in-law had pointed out to him in a 'men's conversation' that he wanted many grandchildren. Torsten hadn't known what to answer.

There were other things he needed to focus on. He still had a lot to learn about his new home, he had to learn how to be a vampire nobleman! He had to build relationships. He had to come to know his wife. And he had to work with her to ensure that her brother did not become king. Meanwhile, he had told her that Marlon had threatened him. Annemarie found it amusing. "Further proof that Marlon is stupid," she called her brother's threat.

 

Peter

 

Julia was talking to Finn. The dragon girl, Josefine, pressed herself against her and listened attentively to the conversation. He watched as Finn pressed a kiss to Julia's cheek. What was it for?

They had found a few bushes of wild berries, where the group now rested to pick and eat the berries. They had used up their own supplies the night before. Now they were all dependent on what the forest had to offer them.

"Won’t you eat anything?", asked Fiete, holding out a few berries to him.

"Thanks." He gratefully took the berries. "Will I ever see your dragon form? Up close?"

"Is that what you want? In that case, gladly. Why not? It's my true form."

Peter grinned. He's a big reptile, not a human... But he seems so human. "I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants to see it." He pointed to his sister, who was ruffling Josefine's hair. The dragon girl protested laughing and hid behind Leopold, who was talking to his friends.

"I'm glad they get along well", Fiete said. "Even if most elves are afraid of us. Justly. There is nothing wrong with that. But your sister? And her friends?" Fiete stopped talking and sniffed the air.

"What's wrong?"

"A deer is nearby... And I'm hungry. You'll excuse me for a moment?"

"You want to eat a deer? A living one?" Peter grimaced. "Ew."

"Well. For me, it's more nutritious than a few berries." Fiete winked at him and called for Josefine. Soon after, the two dragons disappeared into the forest with the promise to come back when they had eaten. Before the elves started looking delicious.  This statement scared Peter. How dangerous were the two dragons that accompanied them?

And he was married... with one.

Peter joined Hanno and Flora. The two were sure to reach the steppe in the evening. Despite the thunderstorm and despite the many breaks, they had made better progress than expected. They were close to their destination. A new home.

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